Well, that didn't take long. A new Detroit Free Press/WXYZ-TV poll shows the percentage of those who view Gov. Rick Snyder positively has fallen from 59 percent in late January to 44 percent now.

The poll was conducted last weekend by EPIC-MRA of Lansing.

Voters also are less pleased with Snyder's job performance than they were just over a month ago. And they're almost evenly split on whether Michigan is on the right track or wrong track, according to the poll.

Undoubtedly, Snyder's declining positive poll numbers are due to his austere budget proposal, which has upset seniors, advocates for low-income working families, and school and university officials, among others.

His budget also is coming under fire for its big tax shift from businesses to individuals. I examine that shift in my weekly business column.

Most businesses in the state would not pay the 6 percent corporate income tax Snyder has proposed to replace the Michigan Business Tax. That already is triggering a debate in Lansing over the fairness of not only the tax shift but also on how various businesses are treated by the plan.

One Democratic lawmaker said Wednesday that Chrysler Group LLC would be exempt from the corporate income tax because it is a limited liability corporation, one of the types of corporate structures that would not be taxed under Snyder's proposal.

Ford spokesman Todd Nissen told the Detroit News that the automaker "would be very concerned if the Corporate Income Tax created an uneven playing field favoring any of our competitors."

Snyder said this morning he knew his honeymoon with voters would be over when he proposed a 2012 budget that plugs a deep hole in the budget.

He may be reminded of something President Harry Truman once said: "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." The same also goes for governors in tough economic times.